If plans go through, wheels will come off Marin Headlands

Marin County

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, August 12, 2007

Photo: Chris Stewart

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

FORTBAKER10_0073_cs.jpg
Grand views above Fort Baker. The National Park Service, which manages the lands of Fort Baker, has formed a partnership of private, public, and nonprofit organizations with two new partners. The nonprofit Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy will manage the Institute at Fort Baker, a center focused on today�s most critical environmental issues. The Fort Baker Retreat Group LLC, a private firm will operate Cavallo Point � The Lodge at the Golden Gate in restored landmark and newly constructed buildings at Fort Baker.
Chris Stewart / The Chronicle Cavallo Point - The Lodge at the Golden Gate MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOG AND SF CHRONICLE/NO SALES-MAGS OUT less

FORTBAKER10_0073_cs.jpg
Grand views above Fort Baker. The National Park Service, which manages the lands of Fort Baker, has formed a partnership of private, public, and nonprofit organizations with two new ... more

Photo: Chris Stewart

If plans go through, wheels will come off Marin Headlands

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

Car-free days may not be far off in the Marin Headlands and at Fort Baker, two historic military sites with spectacular views and ever-increasing hordes of bicyclists, sightseers, outdoor enthusiasts and traffic.

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area has been circulating a plan that would improve roads and parking, add bike lanes and trails, add shuttle service and periodically ban cars in some of the most popular areas.

The car-free proposal and another idea to charge for parking are the most controversial elements of the district's transportation plan for the hilly, often fog- and wind-swept region on the southernmost end of Marin County.

"The main message here is we're going to try it. We're going to see how it is going to work," Nancy Hornor, the chief of planning for the GGNRA, said about the idea to ban cars. "There are a lot of logistics that need to be worked out, but we think it's worth a try."

Park officials are asking the public to submit comments about the project's draft environmental report by Monday. The plans are the most dramatic changes proposed for the site since the military abandoned it in the late 1960s and an ill-fated idea was hatched for a community of 20,000 people called "Marincello."

Although the details have not been worked out, Hornor said cars would be banned at first on about seven holiday or weekend days a year. If the concept works, she said, the number of auto-less days might be increased.

The proposal is an attempt to alleviate traffic, reduce the danger to the many bicyclists on the narrow roads snaking over the hills and through the valley, and make for a more pleasurable outdoor experience for everyone, Hornor said.

The current plan, she said, is to allow motorists up Convelman Road to the intersection of McCullough Road and down to the riding stables in the Marin Headlands, where they would park for between $1 and $5.

A roundabout would be built at the Convelman-McCullough intersection, where tourists and sightseers now frequently turn around, creating a hazard. A bicycle lane would be added for the hundreds of cyclists who ride up the hill on weekends. The whole region would remain open to hikers and bikers.

At Fort Baker, motorists would all be funneled into a main parking lot, which also would charge a fee. That would leave the Discovery Museum, the new lodge and conference center, the parade grounds and the harbor at Horseshoe Cove car-free, Hornor said.

To get people there, Muni shuttles would be offered from San Francisco every 30 minutes on the weekends as opposed to every hour only on Sundays. The National Park Service would pay for the extra service. A new internal park shuttle between Fort Baker, the Marin Headlands and the Sausalito ferry would also be established, she said.

Although most people, especially bicyclists, have been supportive, the proposal is a major concern for boaters, kayakers, windsurfers and surfers, who use their cars to bring their watercraft and gear to Horseshoe Cove and Rodeo Beach. Equestrians are upset about the planned parking lot and other changes around the stable area.

Penny Wells, president of Bay Access and a member of Bay Area Sea Kayakers, or BASK, said Horseshoe Cove is a popular launching spot for paddlers heading all over the San Francisco Bay.

"Not every single day that you want to launch at Horseshoe Cove has amenable tides for where you want to go," Wells said. "So if you take away even one day a month, you are looking at a significant decrease in access to the water for recreation."

Hornor said park officials are aware of the concerns and will re-evaluate and make adjustments to the plan when the public comment period is over. She believes there is a way to accommodate boaters and surfers and still keep much of the area traffic-free.

The Marin Headlands are world famous for their panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. The blustery cliffs and rocky shores serve as a coastal flyway for migrating hawks and raptors.

Crumbling historic military fortifications dot the hills, including Fort Cronkhite, Fort Barry, the SF-88 Nike Missile silo and several bunkers and batteries. Fort Baker, once the military headquarters for the region, is on the east end of the headlands, at the base of the hill on the other side of Highway 101.

Hornor said the recreation area plans integrate everything from widening and repaving roads and fixing dangerous intersections to building bike lanes and adding hiking trails.

The final environmental report is scheduled to come out in the fall, and a decision is expected to be made in the winter of 2008.

If approved, the work is expected to begin in 2009 or 2010.

Online resources

Golden Gate National Recreation Area:

Read the draft environmental report and transportation plan:

Share your thoughts

The draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Marin Headlands and Fort Baker transportation project analyzes four alternatives ranging from taking no action to making major transportation and infrastructure improvements - including the addition of bike lanes on all the roads.

Alternative 3, the preferred option, would improve transportation and access and make infrastructure improvements, but would avoid the extensive work outlined in the most expensive option, Alternative 4.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.